Von Trier Goes from 'Antichrist' to End of the World

Director Lars von Trier is again bucking convention, seguing from his new physchologically heavy Antichrist to the disaster movie genre for something tentatively titled Planet Melancholia.

The Hollywood Reporter gives some financial details (a $7.4 million budget, healthy by von Trier's standards) as well as some production information (the film will shoot next summer in Germany and Sweden). But specific details about the project itself are hard to come by.

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Second US Trailer for Lars von Trier's 'Antichrist'

The controversy surrounding Antichrist is a true test of the old adage, "there's no such thing as bad publicity." In addition to possibly repulsing several members of the audience at Cannes back in May, the latest trailer for Lars von Trier's film puts some choice reviews front and center. Yes, reading that this is "the most schocking film" in the 60-year history of Cannes is likely to get people's attention.

IFC Films feels the gamble is worth whatever backlash there might be to the film - and the press-heavy festival crowd is a lot more patient with art films than general audiences. Willem Dafoe is intense enough, but when you add the hell (pardon the pun, or maybe not) that Charlotte Gainsbourg endures in the movie and the career-long high-wire act that is von Trier's career, and this could be the sort of film that audiences really seek out just to see how far it actually goes. The movie hits the ground running on October 23rd, and between now and then, it's going to be featured at festivals in New York and Finland (plus a run in Toronto this week), so the advance buzz could be building at just the right time. It's got my money, just because I can't believe it's that shocking. We've been desensitized quite a bit over the years.

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'Antichrist' Poster Now Available in Black

Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap might ask how much more black this new poster for Lars von Trier's new film Antichrist could be. The answer is not none more black, but it's close.

The idea behind the poster, as far as I can discern, is that the film is so controversial that they can't show you even a sliver of it. Some who saw the movie at Cannes found it pretty shocking, with very graphic depictions of sex and...uh...genital mutilation. We saw hints of that in the earlier poster for the film, but now that the secret's out, they don't need the added visual to generate interest. So instead, we get quotes that accomplish the same thing. Not a reinvention of the wheel, but it works well in this instance.

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Lars von Trier's 'Antichrist' Gets U.S. Release Date

One of the year's most controversial films is headed to a theater near you on October 23rd. That's the date Lars von Trier's Antichrist bows in New York and Los Angeles, several months after its debuts in most of Europe. In the UK, for example, the film opens uncut on July 24th.

Von Trier - whose work is never easy to digest, really - shocked audiences at Cannes with his new film, which stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. He was diffident in press conferences about the reaction, and if nothing else, it was well-played publicity. The game was gobbled up by IFC for domestic distribution and has even inspired a video game spin-off.

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IFC Films Worships Lars von Trier's 'Antichrist'

It's too early to announce a release date, but IFC Films has picked up the distribution rights for Lars von Trier's Antichrist, which is easily the most controversial movie at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film was met with jeers and mocking laughter when it premiered on the croisette earlier this week, and von Trier has refused to answer for the film's content. As far as IFC is concerned, he'll never have to. Now the studio has picked up a movie that, for good or bad, is already receiving plenty of free publicity.

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